Increase Your Faith Bible Study | The Church of God International, Philippines | August 1, 2020

God has a unique prerequisite

for His people. Without this

unique attribute, no one can

please God.

This unique attribute is faith in

God. God demands and

requires His people to have

faith in Him.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God; believe also in me.”

• Jesus tells the disciples

not to worry about life.

Just have faith in Him

and in the Father.

John 14:1 Notes

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves.”

• Paul made it even

clearer when he said

that we are saved

through our faith in

Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8 Notes

“…without faith it is impossible to please

God, because anyone who comes to him

must believe that he exists and that he

rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

• Therefore, faith is a

unique requisite for

salvation and for

pleasing God.

Hebrews 11:6 Notes

Faith is beyond believing that God exists or invoking His

name often. James said that even Satan believes that God

exists. Not only did Satan believe that God exists, he actual

knows Him and sees Him and even trembles at His

presence.

Faith is not an unusual demand or

burden on believers. Faith is an

attribute that all humans inherently

possess. So, when God ask for faith

in Him it is not an outlandish,

eccentric demand.

We make decisions everyday. All our choices,

behaviors and actions are dictated by one thing –

the power of believing. We believe therefore we act

that is faith. Without faith, nothing can be

accomplished in our lives.

“

”

EVERYDAY FAITH

Food Education Relationships Investments

We make our everyday decisions based

on the assumption that what we expect

to happen will happen. Without faith,

we can do nothing in our lives.

So, when God demands faith from us,

He is asking for something simple. We

put faith in everything we do. Why not

put faith in Him and His will?

Faith is not to believe in the

impossible. Faith is to believe that

the possible is attainable. Faith

has an element of certainty,

surety and reality.

Faith is not blind

Hope is different from faith. In Tagalog

hope is “pag-asa”. Faith is the

assurance of certainty while hope is

the anticipated fulfillment. They are

inseparable.

There are two (2) chapters in

the Bible that talk about faith.

They are Hebrews 11 and

James 2.

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and

assurance about what we do not see. (NIV)

1 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for.

And faith means knowing that something is real

even if we do not see it. (ICB)

• Faith, is the assurance

of an anticipated

fulfillment and certainty

of things that is not yet

seen.

• Faith is not mere

believing in God but

trusting in His promises.

Hebrews 11 Notes

2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was

formed at God’s command, so that what is seen

was not made out of what was visible.

• The acknowledgement

of God as the causative

force of the universe.

Hebrews 11 Notes

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than

Cain did. By faith he was commended as

righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.

And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is

dead.

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that

he did not experience death: “He could not be

found, because God had taken him away.” For

before he was taken, he was commended as one

who pleased God.

• They put their trust in

God and acted

accordingly.

Hebrews 11 Notes

Two Elements in Faith

Believe that God exists Trust His words

• A firm acknowledgement of

God’s existence and revelation.

• Romans 1:18-25 says the

creation reveals the Creator!

There is no mistaking that He

exists.

• Faith is the knowledge of God.

• Trust is a personal confidence in

God. To trust means an absolute

certainty what is promised.

• To trust requires positive actions.

To trust is a commitment to obey

and to follow Christ.

• Jesus said: if you love me keep my

commandments.

6 And without faith it is impossible to

please God, because anyone who comes

to him must believe that he exists and

that he rewards those who earnestly seek

him.

• For anyone to act and to

behave righteously, he must

believe he is doing the right

thing.

• And it is thru this simple faith

that the ancients were

commented for.

Hebrews 11 Notes

7 By faith Noah, when warned about

things not yet seen, in holy fear built an

ark to save his family. By his faith he

condemned the world and became heir of

the righteousness that is in keeping with

faith.

• All the men and women of

Hebrews 11 have an intimate

relationship with God.

• They knew God and trusted in

His words. That is faith.

Hebrews 11 Notes

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a

place he would later receive as his

inheritance, obeyed and went, even

though he did not know where he was

going.

• Abram left a life of comfort to

follow God’s command to

travel to a rural land Abram

never heard of.

• Abraham lived a life of

obedience because he

trusted the Lord.

Hebrews 11 Notes

9 By faith he made his home in the

Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign

country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and

Jacob, who were heirs with him of the

same promise.

10 For he was looking forward to the city

with foundations, whose architect and

builder is God.

• Abraham was looking beyond

a plot of soil in Canaan.

Abraham’s faith was in the

promise of an eternal city –

the New Jerusalem (referred

by Jesus as My Father’s

House), the abode of the

righteous.

Hebrews 11 Notes

11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was

enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who

had made the promise.

12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came

descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as

the sand on the seashore.

Hebrews 11

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did

not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed

them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and

strangers on earth.

14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a

country of their own.

15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would

have had opportunity to return.

Hebrews 11

16 Instead, they were longing for a better country— a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has

prepared a city for them.

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a

sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice

his one and only son,

18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your

offspring will be reckoned.”

Hebrews 11

19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in

a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,

and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11

22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus

of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the

burial of his bones.

23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was

born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not

afraid of the king’s edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as

the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Hebrews 11

25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather

than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value

than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his

reward.

27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered

because he saw him who is invisible.

Hebrews 11

28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that

the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land;

but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched

around them for seven days.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies,

was not killed with those who were disobedient.

Hebrews 11

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,

Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the

prophets,

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and

gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the

sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became

powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Hebrews 11

35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were

others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might

gain an even better resurrection.

36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and

imprisonment.

Hebrews 11

37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they

were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and

goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—

38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and

mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

Hebrews 11

39 These were all commended for their

faith, yet none of them received what had

been promised,

40 since God had planned something

better for us so that only together with us

would they be made perfect.

• The hallmark of this

illustrious list of men and

women is their ACTIVE and

LIVING faith.

Hebrews 11 Notes

James is straightforward in saying that

works always accompanies faith.

Our faith in God is manifested in our

deeds because we trust in the Lord.

Therefore, we act in the direction of our

faith.

Action accompanies faith

14 What good are it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have

faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.

16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but

does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is

dead.

James 2

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith

without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—

and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is

useless?

James 2

21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when

he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his

faith was made complete by what he did.

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it

was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

James 2

24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not

by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered

righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent

them off in a different direction?

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2

1. Read the Bible

2. Pray

3. Meditate

4. Go to church

5. Talk about God

6. Show love for neighbor

7. Help someone in need

8. Become a better person

9. Etc.

Common answers to how do we

increase our faith?

Abraham was called God’s friend. (James 2:23)

Faith is the result of a relationship. In the

spiritual context, faith defines and characterizes

our relationship with God.

Faith is not simply knowing or acknowledging

that God exist. Faith is to enter a relationship of

trust with the Creator.

Faith comes from a relationship

Faith is trust founded on knowledge

and manifested in action through

our obedience in living a godly life.

To have faith is to have a close and

intimate relationship with God.

Therefore, without faith, it is

impossible to please God.

Faith is lived

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord,

“Increase our faith!”

We can increase our faith by developing a closer

relationship with Him!

Here are four (4) ways to improve your relationship with

Christ.

01

Know God

To have a meaningful relationship

with God, you must know Him.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave

his one and only Son, that whoever believes

in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the

world to condemn the world, but to save the

world through him.

• There is a God and He has a

Son whom He sent to save the

world.

• We know a lot about the son,

Jesus Christ. But, the Father we

know very little of.

• To have a relationship with God

the Father and His Son Jesus

Christ, you need to be

acquainted with the Father.

John 3 Notes

No one has ever seen God, but the

one and only Son, who is himself

God and is in closest relationship

with the Father, has made him

known.

John 1:18

We know also that the Son of God

has come and has given us

understanding, so that we may

know him who is true. And we are

in him who is true by being in his

Son Jesus Christ. He is the true

God and eternal life.

1 John 5:20

For us to have a close and

intimate relationship with

God, we must make effort to

know the Eternal Father and

His Son Jesus Christ.

02

Be Loyal to God

Loyalty comes from agape: selfless

and genuine love. There can never

be a close relationship without

loyalty. Loyalty brings sincerity,

honesty, reliance and trust into a

relationship. In our local vernacular

we say: “walang iwanan”.

True bond of relationship is forged in loyalty. True friends

stick together for better or for worse; through good times

and bad times; through thick and thin.

Jesus said: I will never leave you nor forsake you. True

friends are loyal to each other. Loyalty is the virtue that

holds a friendship and a relationship together.

Abraham was loyal to God. Are you loyal to God?

To have a close relationship with Christ you

must be loyal to Him with all sincerity and

trustworthiness.

03

Be Obedient to Him

Jesus said: “if you love me keep the

commandments.”

“You are my friends if you do what I

command.”

Do you know that the first command of “You shall have no

other gods before me” is an oath of loyalty?

Commandment keeping is important in a relationship

because intimate friends share the same values, moral

standard and principles. These commonalities make us

think and behave alike. It is an assurance that he/she will

always do the right thing in the best interest of everyone.

The Psalmist wrote that we should

meditate on God’s law for they

provide insights and understanding

to the precepts of God.

The Cambridge English dictionary

defines “meditation” as to think

seriously about something over a

period of time.

97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it

all day long.

98 Your commands are always with me

and make me wiser than my enemies.

99 I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your statutes.

• To meditate means to think

very carefully and deeply for

a long time about God’s

wonderful laws.

Psalm 119 Notes

100 I have more understanding than the

elders, for I obey your precepts.

101 I have kept my feet from every evil path

so that I might obey your word.

102 I have not departed from your laws, for

you yourself have taught me.

Psalm 119

103 How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 I gain understanding from your

precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 119

Today, many read the Bible, from cover to cover, to

find ways on how not to keep the laws of God. This is

very sad. They tell you the commandments of the

Lord are nailed to the cross, the Sabbaths done away,

together with the food and tithing laws. And, they

expect to have a close relationship with God.

Abraham had an intimate relationship with

God. He is consistent in his actuation. In

God’s eyes Abraham is reliable and

trustworthy. God can expect Abraham to do

all His biddings at all times and in all

circumstances.

To develop a closer relationship with

God, you must share the same values

and moral principles as Christ.

Obedience to the 10 commandments

of God leads us to this relationship!

04

Be Like-Minded

I have called you friends, for

everything that I learned from my

Father I have made known to you.

The scripture says we are to grow into the grace and knowledge

of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!

Amen.”

This mind can be yours through the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

15 “If you love me, keep my commands.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help

you and be with you forever—

17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither

sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will

be in you.

John 14

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father

will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words

you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

John 14

15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will

receive from me what he will make known to you.”

John 16

The Holy Spirit is only given to

one who has a close and

intimate relationship with Him.

1 Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

• The emphasis of this prayer

is our relationship with God.

• Jesus said we need to have

a relationship with the

Eternal Father in order to

have eternal life.

John 17 Notes

6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

• Obedience to God’s

commands.

John 17 Notes

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 25

• Loyalty to God.

• Our loyalty is to God and not

to the world.

John 17 Notes

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

• Again, the strong emphasis

on developing an intimate

relationship between us and

God.

John 17 Notes

22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

• This is unity of faith brought

about a loving and close

relationship with God the Father

and Jesus Christ.

• This talking about having the

same mind on account of the in-

dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

John 17 Notes

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 “Righteous

John 17 Notes

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

• Faith is a relationship. The

intimate we are to the Eternal

Father and His Son Jesus Christ,

the stronger is our faith.

John 17 Notes

We live our lives everyday with faith and hope in the

mundane things we do. God’s simple expectation of

us is to apply the same faith, trust and hope in Him.

Faith is a relationship. Therefore, faith is reciprocal.

Put your faith in God and God will put His faith on you.

You trust God, God will trust you too.

Faith has brought you into this

relationship. God knows who are

faithful to Him and who are His

followers by simply looking at their

deeds. His people are driven by an

intimate relationship that increases

their faith in His name.

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the

Christ is born of God, and everyone who

loves the father loves his child as well.

2 This is how we know that we love the

children of God: by loving God and carrying

out his commands.

• Know the Eternal Father and

get close to Him.

• Loyalty to God.

1 John 5 Notes

3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his

commands. And his commands are not

burdensome,

4 for everyone born of God (have the holy

spirit – being like minded with Christ)

overcomes the world. This is the victory that

has overcome the world, even (that is) our

faith.

• Obedience to His

commands.

• Be of the same mind.

1 John 5 Notes

God sees you and He knows you. He

knows your hearts and knows you

are faithful to Him. When you ask

God to increase your faith, you need

to work to increase it.

Today, we have shown you four (4) ways for you to grow your

faith.

1. Get to know the Eternal Father and get close to Him

2. Be loyal to Him

3. Be Obedient to Him

4. Be of the same mind with Christ

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace as you

trust in him, so that you may

overflow with hope by the

power of the Holy Spirit.

Show Us The Father Bible Study | The Church of God International, Philippines | August 1, 2020